Producer and director Lori Bailey knew the killer's family and tells his story.

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Updated: 10:25 PM EST Jan 12, 2019

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WEBVTT TRAILER NATS: AUTHORITIES ARE ASKING THE PUBLIC BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR A POSSIBLE SUSPECT IN A MURDER CASE GARROW --- A NEW INDEPENDENT FILM -- DEPICTS THE REAL LIFE HORRORS OF SERIAL KILLER ROBERT FRANCIS GARROW. TRAILER NAT HE TERRORIZED THE NORTH COUNTRY IN THE 1960S AND 70S. LORI BAILEY, WRITER/DIRECTO R: HISTORICALLY IT'S VERY ACCURATE. ITS FROM TAKING COURT DOCUMENTS AND CRIME SCENE PHOTOS... TO THE THREE DAYS HE WAS ON THE STAND BAILEY BELIEVES GARROW WAS A COMPLEX MAN, ONE WITH TWO SIDES... AND A STORY PEOPLE CAN'T SEEM BUT HELP BE DRAWN TO -- AND PUZZED BY. AFTER THREE YEARS OF EXTENSIVE RESEARCH AND FILMING IN THE REGION, THE FILM IS FINISHED AND READY FOR AUDIENCES. MARK VALLEY, PORTRAYING FRANCIS BELL: IT SORT OF WORKS ITS WAY AROUND A LEGAL DRAMA, BUT IT'S ALSO A HORROR FILM, BUT ITS ALSO LIKE A DOCUMENTS. IT'S A COMBINATION OF GENRES ABOUT A LOCAL STORY THE SCRIPT IS LARGELY WRITTEN FROM ACTUAL COURTROOM TESTIMONY -- GIVING A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO THE MAN CHARGED WITH THE CHALLENGE OF PORTRAY HIM. JAY: 1139: AS I READ MORE AND MORE OF HIS WORDS, NOT JUST THE ACTIONS OF WHAT HE HAD DONE, THE WORDS REALLY ARE WHAT I WAS DRAWN TO AS AN ACTOR GARROW WAS FROM ESSEX COUNTY. THE SERIAL RAPIST AND MURDERER TROUBLED FROM EARLY AGE. JAY ALAN CHRISTIANSON, PORTRAYS ROBERT FRANCIS GARROW: 913: I DON'T SEE A CHARACTER AS JUST GOOD OR BAD. I LIKE TO FIND SOMETHING WITHIN HIM, SOMETHING I CAN UNDERSTAND A RELATE TO. FOR BAILEY WHAT MADE THE PROJECT DIFFICULT -- IS HER OWN CONNECTION TO GARROW. BAILEY GREW UP IN MINEVILLE -- HER FAMILY KNEW ROBERT. LORI BAILEY, WRITER/DIRECTO R: 5824: WE WERE ALL LIVING IN THE AREA. HIS SIBLING WERE ABOUT MY AGE. I WAS ALWAYS AWARE OF THEIR DYSFUNCTION THE FILM IS NOT RATED, BUT DOES CONTAIN MATURE THEMES. LORI: 3:49: I DON'T KNOW WHY PEOPLE LIKE IT SO MUCH. I'M THRILLED I'M HAPPY THEY DO TRAILER: YOUR HONOR! AND YOU SAY YOU BELIEVE IN GOD. OBJECTION. NATS: SOMEBODY HELP ME IN PLATTS, LAD, NBC5 NEWS. WHERE YOU

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'Garrow' depicts life, terror of Adirondack serial killer

Producer and director Lori Bailey knew the killer's family and tells his story.

The life, trial and terrors of serial killer Robert Francis Garrow arrives in Plattsburgh this weekend in the form of the new independent film, "Garrow.""Historically, (it's) very accurate," director Lori Bailey said Saturday. "That was from taking those court documents, which truly there were thousands of pages and crime photos. It's very accurate when you watch the courtroom drama itself. It's almost word for word what went down during Robert's three days he on the stand." Garrow terrorized the North Country in the 1960s and '70s, committing crimes from rape to murder. Bailey, however, believes Garrow was a complex man, and a man with a story people seem to be drawn to."I don't know why it's fascinating," Bailey said. "Maybe just to try and see what is in the mind. What makes a person like that tick?" After three years of extensive research and filming in the region, the film is finished and playing at select theaters.It will play Saturday and Sunday at Plattsburgh's Strand Center for the Arts.Mark Valley portrays Mr. Bell, the lawyer representing Garrow in the film.He is based on several real individuals including Francis Bell, a Syracuse lawyer. Bell gained notoriety for not sharing the location of the bodies of some of Garrow's victims. "He was a serial killer and he escaped from prison and people were scared of him up here," Valley said.Valley is from St. Lawrence County and remembers police stopping cars as they searched for Garrow and the fear throughout the community. He said he is very happy with the finished piece. "One of the things I like about the film is how Lori, as a writer, has structured it," he said. "It sort of works its way around a legal drama, but it's also a horror film."The script is largely written from courtroom testimony, bringing a unique challenge to actors, but also a rare opportunity to hear from their characters directly."As I read more and more of his words, not just the actions of what he had done, but the words really are what I was drawn to as an actor," said Jay Alan Christianson, who portrays Garrow. He said using the courtroom transcripts and Garrow's own explanation of the events that unfolded gave him a unique understanding of the character he was charged with understanding and portraying."I love characters that really are complex," Christianson said. "I can't look at a character as just good or bad. I like to find something within him that I can understand and relate to."Due to the subject matter, the film contains mature themes. It is not rated. Despite the gruesome details, Bailey said community members encouraged her to research and eventually turn the story into a film. "The story was one I had known for a long time," Bailey said.Like Garrow, Bailey grew up in Essex County. Her father was a miner who worked with Garrow for a brief period."We were all living in the area," she said. "Obviously, Robert was older than I am, but his siblings were about my age. I was always aware of their dysfunction, if you will, the difference in their family dynamic."She said the research was "disturbing" due to the personal connection she shared with some of the victims and Garrow's family."Definitely two personalities in Robert," Bailey said. "For those who know and love Robert, he is a wonderful father, worker, a great guy. For the other side, he's the person you meet on the roadside who raped and killed."Following Saturday's screening, a question and answer session was held with Bailey, Valley and other actors in the film.Valley's own film "Zburg" was to play ahead of the 70 minute "Garrow."An additional showing was added Sunday afternoon "due to overwhelming demand," according to the Strand Center for the Arts' Facebook page. It begins at 2 p.m.

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. —

The life, trial and terrors of serial killer Robert Francis Garrow arrives in Plattsburgh this weekend in the form of the new independent film, "Garrow."

"Historically, (it's) very accurate," director Lori Bailey said Saturday. "That was from taking those court documents, which truly there were thousands of pages and crime photos. It's very accurate when you watch the courtroom drama itself. It's almost word for word what went down during Robert's three days he on the stand."

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Garrow terrorized the North Country in the 1960s and '70s, committing crimes from rape to murder.

Bailey, however, believes Garrow was a complex man, and a man with a story people seem to be drawn to.

"I don't know why it's fascinating," Bailey said. "Maybe just to try and see what is in the mind. What makes a person like that tick?"

After three years of extensive research and filming in the region, the film is finished and playing at select theaters.

It will play Saturday and Sunday at Plattsburgh's Strand Center for the Arts.

He is based on several real individuals including Francis Bell, a Syracuse lawyer.

Bell gained notoriety for not sharing the location of the bodies of some of Garrow's victims.

"He was a serial killer and he escaped from prison and people were scared of him up here," Valley said.

Valley is from St. Lawrence County and remembers police stopping cars as they searched for Garrow and the fear throughout the community.

He said he is very happy with the finished piece.

"One of the things I like about the film is how Lori, as a writer, has structured it," he said. "It sort of works its way around a legal drama, but it's also a horror film."

The script is largely written from courtroom testimony, bringing a unique challenge to actors, but also a rare opportunity to hear from their characters directly.

"As I read more and more of his words, not just the actions of what he had done, but the words really are what I was drawn to as an actor," said Jay Alan Christianson, who portrays Garrow.

He said using the courtroom transcripts and Garrow's own explanation of the events that unfolded gave him a unique understanding of the character he was charged with understanding and portraying.

"I love characters that really are complex," Christianson said. "I can't look at a character as just good or bad. I like to find something within him that I can understand and relate to."

Due to the subject matter, the film contains mature themes. It is not rated.

Despite the gruesome details, Bailey said community members encouraged her to research and eventually turn the story into a film.

"The story was one I had known for a long time," Bailey said.

Like Garrow, Bailey grew up in Essex County.

Her father was a miner who worked with Garrow for a brief period.

"We were all living in the area," she said. "Obviously, Robert was older than I am, but his siblings were about my age. I was always aware of their dysfunction, if you will, the difference in their family dynamic."

She said the research was "disturbing" due to the personal connection she shared with some of the victims and Garrow's family.

"Definitely two personalities in Robert," Bailey said. "For those who know and love Robert, he is a wonderful father, worker, a great guy. For the other side, he's the person you meet on the roadside who raped and killed."

Following Saturday's screening, a question and answer session was held with Bailey, Valley and other actors in the film.

Valley's own film "Zburg" was to play ahead of the 70 minute "Garrow."

An additional showing was added Sunday afternoon "due to overwhelming demand," according to the Strand Center for the Arts' Facebook page. It begins at 2 p.m.